The crowd accepted Oda Nobunaga's reward, and then put forward their own plans for the evaluation of Nagashima one after another. As Sabei expected, the plan of the crowd was basically to encroach on Ichijo from the outside, and after pressing Ichijo Ichijo to the island, he would launch a general attack on several islands near Nagashima Castle.

Oda Nobunaga, who was at the top, was silent after hearing this, and the retainers at the bottom naturally stopped talking and set their eyes on Oda Nobutada. After noticing the gaze of the retainers, Oda Nobutada whispered to Oda Nobunaga: "Father, I am also in favor of advancing step by step, and finally compressing the enemy army to Nagashima Castle and so on, and finally launching a general attack. ”

Hearing this, Oda Nobunaga glanced at Oda Nobutada, and then said to the retainers in front of him: "Nagashima has always been a one-size-fits-all, and the family must be pacified in one fell swoop, and the family has no time to waste on them; Now Hokuriku Kaga has always been fighting between Quan Roku and Yoshikei, and the family will not transfer the Northern Army back, so in addition to the North Road Army, Gorou Left, Ten Soldiers, and Saemon Captain.... Together with Sabei, they had to lead the army to participate in the pacification of Nagashima and had always been a battle. ”

After listening to Oda Nobunaga's words, Sabei heard the term "Northern Army" for the first time. This also means that the Oda family wants to pacify Nagashima with the power of the whole country. It's just that this is not a bit risky, after all, the Takeda family is still eyeing Higashimino. If so many troops are mobilized to pacify Nagashima, once the Oda army is frustrated in the Nagashima area, I am afraid that the Takeda family will immediately take action against Mino!

Thinking of this, Sabei raised his head and swept the wise Mitsuhide, Sakuma Nobumori and others in front of him, and sure enough, Sakuma Nobumori, who had a cautious personality, said what Sabei was worried about. However, Oda Nobunaga, who was at the top, had obviously made up his mind, and told everyone that the Takeda family wolves had lost their heads, and the new wolves were still unable to convince the public, let alone raise troops to attack Mino.

After the assessment, Sabei and Tsuda Nobusumi were instructed by Oda Nobutada's close attendants to go to his house for a small gathering.

Sabei, who was sitting in the house, looked at the gloomy sky outside the house and said to Tsuda Nobusumi, "Nanabei, what has happened to Akechi-sama lately?" ”

After hearing this, Tsuda Nobusumi said to Sabei: "There is nothing unusual about Lord Akechi, but the last time he stopped us from beheading the head of Miyoshi Yoshiji, it was a little strange. ”

Hearing this, Sabei withdrew his gaze from the outside, and said to Tsuda Nobusumi: "Wise Lord is a loyal and benevolent person, and it is inevitable that he will feel sympathy when he sees Miyoshi Yoshitsugu still dying under the protection of his close attendants, but it is also a reasonable thing, is there anything abnormal?" ”

Tsuda Nobusumi smiled after hearing this, but did not speak. Seeing this, Sabei also scratched his head and smiled, and then changed the topic.

Later, Oda Nobutada and the two of them had a discussion about sending troops to assess Nagashima's usual trouble, and Sabei once again expressed his concern that the Takeda family would endanger Mino. After hearing this, Oda Nobutada also said that he would give his father another suggestion.

The three of them chatted for a while, and suddenly Tsuda Nobusumi was summoned by Oda Nobunaga and left the table in a hurry. Sabei remembered the so-called hostage of Akechi Mitsuhide, and deliberately asked Oda Nobutada: "Has the young master ever met Ashikaga Yoshiaki?" ”

After hearing this, Oda Nobutada nodded and said, "I saw him when he was temporarily living in Gifu, and then my father supported him as the general of the expedition, and I also met him several times with my father. ”

After hearing this, Sabei said casually: "I was a little worried that he would flee to Hokuriku Echigo to seek help from the Uesugi clan, but now I don't know his appearance, and I don't know if the young master can tell me." ”

After hearing this, Oda Nobutada said with a smile: "This general's frame is very big, but when I meet him, I can't look up and look up at my dignity all the time, but he is just a puppet supported by my father. ”

With that, Oda Nobutada called his men over, and after a while, someone came to Sabei with a painting. When he opened it, the mystery in Sabei's heart was suddenly solved. After seeing the portrait of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Sabei said to Oda Nobutada: "Ashikaga Yoshiaki is also nothing extravagant, where can he compare to the heroism of the lord." ”

After hearing this, Oda Nobutada smiled and said: "Sabei, there is no need to be like this, we are all Oda, and we can serve our own family, and such flattery is superfluous." ”

Hearing this, Sabei also smiled and said, "What the young master said is extremely true. ”

Seeing that Tsuda Nobusumi had not returned for a long time, Sabei was embarrassed to stop at Oda Nobutada's house, so he said goodbye to Oda Nobutada and returned to his house with his attendants.

After that, Oda Nobunaga did not summon Sabei alone, and Sabei stayed in Gifu Castle for another day, and casually returned to Kuniyoshi Castle with his men. After returning to Kuniyoshi Castle, Sabei wrote a letter to Akechi Mitsuhide, expressing his desire to visit Akechi Mitsuhide and thank Akechi Mitsuhide for his care during the capture of Hanoi Castle.

A few days later, Akechi Mitsuhide also replied with a letter welcoming Sabei to visit him at Sakamoto Castle. So Sabei took several of his men to Sakamoto Castle to meet Akechi Mitsuhide. Naturally, Akechi Mitsuhide hosted a banquet in the city to entertain Sabei, and after the banquet, Akechi Mitsuhide also talked to Sabei about pacifying Nagashima.

After the servants removed the used meals, Akechi Mitsuhide withdrew his servants, leaving only the attendants to serve outside the door.

Akechi Mitsuhide, who was sitting at the top, looked at Sabei in front of him and said to Sabei, "Sabei, what do you have different opinions about the Lord Fair Nagashima?" ”

After hearing this, Sabei said with a smile: "Nagashima has always been entrenched for a long time, and its strength is strong, it is not an ordinary one, and it is best to adopt a step-by-step strategy, first uproot the other strongholds in Kuwana County, and after each is broken, gather absolutely superior forces to besiege Nagashima Castle, this is the most suitable plan for the current time." ”

After hearing this, Akechi Mitsuhide nodded, and said to Sabei: "It's just that the lord's plan is too dangerous, the Takeda family is still coveting Minono, and the lord's use of the power of the lord to pacify Nagashima has always been a pinch, which will inevitably lead the Takeda family to the west." ”

After Sabei and Akechi Mitsuhide tested each other, Sabei suddenly got up and said, "Lord Akechi, I thought that the lord could mobilize a naval army to surround the islands near Nagashima Castle at the beginning of pacification, cut off the connection between Nagashima and other cities and the land, and then break Kuwana and other castles, and finally transport the army to the island to attack the city. ”

After hearing this, Akechi Mitsuhide also got up and said, "The lord may also just send out the news in advance, so that I can concentrate on thinking about the countermeasures to pacify Nagashima and the others, and we can also test whether the Takeda family has the intention of going west again." ”

After hearing this, Sabei smiled and said, "Lord Wise is really resourceful, I admire it!" At this time, Akechi Mitsuhide suddenly walked up to Sabei and asked with a smile, "I heard that you recently sent ninjas to investigate the appearance of His Highness Ashikaga, what is going on?" ”